The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sport Correspondent
AFTER making impressive performances at the three International Tennis Federation Futures held in the country last month, local tennis ace, Mehluli Don Ayanda Sibanda is slowing down to focus on his matric exams coming later this year.
Sibanda reached the semi-finals in the first and third tournaments while in the second he made the exit at the quarter-final stage.
The feat saw him earning 14 points as each semi-final exit gave him six points while reaching the quarterfinals saw him being awarded two points, leaving him ranked at number 1092, in rankings released mid-June.
Sibanda is currently at the Botswana Open which began on Thursday.
“For now, I am taking a break but will be training at the courts for about four weeks before I look at the calendar. I will make a definite decision on my next tournament then depending on the available options,” he said after the futures last month.
The 18-year-old player’s impressive run was made all the more sweet considering he was not seeded at all the events but got wild card entries.
In the Futures 1 Sibanda beat fourth seed, Bosnia’s Darko Bojanovic 6-1 2-6 6-2 in the first round before subduing German, Milen Ianakiev 7-5, 6-1 futures in the second round and in the quarter-finals he beat Spain’s Jorge Blanco Guadalupe 6-4 6-3, a win that set him up against the country’s top seed, Takanyi Garanganga in the finals and he lost 7-5, 6-3.
The second Futures he dispatched Tukhula Jacobs of Namibia, 6-2, 6-4 before taking on South African, Richard Thongoana in the second round and winning 6-3, 6-4 but lost in the quarter-finals to great Britain’s Isaac Stoute 6-2, 6-4.
Although he began by losing his first set in the third Futures (first round) to 24-year-old American, Jordan Parker 1-6, Sibanda recovered to take the second set 6-3 and sealed the match in the third set by the same scoreline. Sibanda went on to win the second round by a 6-1, 6-4 victory against 23-year-old Indian, Niki Kaliyanda Poonach and in the quarter-finals he beat another Indian, Dhruv Sunish 6-2, 7-5 to make it into the semi-finals where he lost to top seed, fellow countryman, Benjamin Lock 6-2, 6-4.
Sibanda, who was based at South Africa’s High Performance Centre in Pretoria for three years between 2014 and 2017, said he was happy with his performances particularly as he faced the country’s top two, Garanganga and Lock and despite losing to both players he was pleased with how he performed.
Sibanda’s coach and father, Tendai Sibanda said the youngster performed beyond their expectations going into the Futures.
He said facing international opposition is tough, reaching quarter-finals and semi-finals showed his game has improved.
“He played well beyond our expectations, remember he was up against players from all over the world and to lose at the semi-final stage was just wonderful.
“Mehluli had travelled to Uganda, where he failed to make the cut so I think this spurred him on to greater heights at the Futures held here.
“I’m sure he learnt a lot in losing to his compatriots (Lock and Garanganga) and this will certainly reflect in his future performances,” he said.
Tennis Zimbabwe held the three Futures tournaments in succession with the F1 Futures running from 28 May to 3 June followed by the F2 Futures from 4 to 10 June and the F3 Futures were held between 11 and 17 June with each event carrying a prize-money of $15 000. —@rasmthembo
